A brilliant man marries a beautiful woman and shows her his home, stating that it's all hers - except a room she can't enter. First chance she enters and discovers what might be human cloning. When the husband returns she pays the price.
Review
I went into Elizabeth Harvest without knowing what the film was about, and to say the film jumps in with both feet is not to say enough. It is apparent, quickly, that Henry is cloning a woman and taking her as his wife - but within ten minutes of the film beginning all is explained. It's actually a refreshing take on the idea, not spending over half the film skirting around the nature and intent of the antagonist of the piece. There are plenty of unanswered questions, and the film circles back to answer them in what becomes a gripping horror film, rife with ideas on the nature of current scientific theorem.It is a sci fi horror, and works well with the genre, being both thought provoking and cerebral in places, all the while having a rising menace throughout and a damn right terrifying villain. I couldn't help but liken much of the experience to watching The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover in everything from tone to concept.
Abbey Lee (The Dark Tower) portrays a vulnerable and naive Elizabeth during the bulk of the runtime, and does solid work with the role, and the excellent and usually understated Ciarán Hinds (Race to Witch Mountain) playing Henry with such intensity, at times he is hard to watch.
It's a bold film, with both scenes of pure evil intent on screen, and then flipping the coin on the portrayal and dragging empathy from the viewer in the next breath. You're left drained by the end of the film, emotionally, and for a lower budget, indie film, it looks gorgeous. Writer / director Sebastian Gutierrez (Hotel Noir) does amazing work.
Must see stuff for the horror fan seeking something more than gore.
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